Golf practice apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for allowing golfer to practice their golf swings thereupon is provided. The apparatus includes a base mat having a void space within it. A flexible beam is atop the base mat, spanning over the open space. A synthetic turf surface that simulates natural grass covers the apparatus. When a golfer swings a golf club to strike a golf ball that is resting on the turf above the beam and, in the process, strikes the turf as well, the elasticity of the beam allows the apparatus&#39;s hitting surface to deflect downward, absorb much of the impact of the golf club and give the golfer the sensation of taking a divot from a natural playing surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to golf practice apparatus, and it is specifically directed to a mat assembly for facilitating golf swing practice, the assembly being adapted to place a golf ball upon and to allow a golfer utilizing it to simulate the experience of hitting the ball from a natural golf surface.

When swinging a club to hit a golf ball, a golfer will normally intend that the face of the club head strike the ball precisely as the head arrives down at the apex of the swing. When using an iron club especially, this generally results in the club head striking the turf just before contacting the golf ball and, consequently, removing from the ground a chunk of soil (a “divot”) lying in the swing path of the club head. If that soil is soft and forgiving, the fast traveling club head may proceed through its intended circular path to strike and lift the golf ball without being excessively decelerated by the ground. However, if the soil is hardened, the swing will be obstructed, the golf club could be damaged and the golfer could be injured. Therefore, unforgiving ground surfaces are generally not conducive to iron hitting.

Of course, while ground hardness is ordinarily not an issue on well-maintained golf courses, it can be problematic at heavily used driving ranges where excessive divoting throughout the hitting area packs and hardens the soil. The texture of the ball-striking surface as well as fear of damaging the lawn can be significant considerations for a golfer wishing to practice hitting balls at places other than the golf course or driving range. Therefore, for quite some time there has been an evolution of various artificial turf covered devices made for hitting golf balls from. In fact, the prior art is replete with patents for various apparatuses for facilitating golf swing practice without damaging the ground. Furthermore, many such devices are designed to also provide the golfer a sensation similar to that felt when striking a golf ball on a natural playing surface.

The golf practice devices of the prior art are typically comprised of a synthetic grass top surface covering a resilient material or some type of mechanism for permitting the ball-supporting surface to momentarily yield upon being struck by a swinging golf club and then rebound back to its previous planar attitude as the club force is lifted. This surface action allows the practice apparatus to absorb much of the impact of the club head, rather than that impact being borne by the club or transferred, via the club shaft, to the golfer's hands and body to possibly induce injury.

In many prior art devices, the ball-supporting surface is elevated from the ground below by a rigid frame construction which gives the surface vertical space to deflect downward. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,494 to Frishberg discloses a practice device comprised of a body structure which supports a ball-supporting surface and a plurality of partially overlapping plates which lie underneath the ball-supporting surface. The disclosed body structure comprises a stand having a planar portion for the practicing golfer to stand upon and having a pair of lateral side panels which elevate the planar portion. The stand further includes, within its planar portion, an opening which allows the ball-supporting surface and plurality of plates overlying it to downwardly deflect upon the surface being struck by a golf club head. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,147 to MacDonald discloses a golf practice device having a rectangular frame assembly which suspends a sheet of artificial grass and a supportive sheet of inelastic material. The ends of the respective sheets are attached to the frame by elastic means, such as springs, which cause the sheets to depress when the striking force of a golf club is applied thereto. The practicing golfer is to stand on an adjacent mat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,663 to Makar also discloses a golf practice device having an artificial turf surface that is suspended from a rigid frame in conceptually similar fashion to the MacDonald device in order permit downward movement of the turf upon club impact.

Prior art golf practice devices that feature such frame-supported turf surfaces are usually not without ostensible disadvantage, however. To wit, their frame assemblies are generally rigidly constructed and, therefore, cannot be folded, coiled or otherwise compacted to enable them to be manually carried or efficiently stored. Also, some framed devices may require that they be set upon perfectly level ground for good stability in use. And sometimes further lending to disadvantage is the fact that some of these practice devices necessitate the use of separate, adjacent elevating platforms for the practicing golfer to stand on. Such is the case of an embodiment of the practice device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,967 to Guyer, for instance. Therefore, due to these and other considerations, it can be appreciated that there exists a need for a golf swing practice apparatus which embodies a simple construction of few elements to allow it to be easily manufactured and maintained, has a downwardly flexible ball-striking surface to absorb club to surface impact, unitarily supports both the golf ball and golfer and can be substantially compacted to better enable manual transport and redeployment from one place to another. The golf practice apparatus of the present invention substantially fulfills these needs.

SUMMARY

The present invention discloses a golf swing practice apparatus having a golf ball hitting surface which is downwardly flexible to simulate the (non-)effect that a natural golf fairway surface typically has upon the golf club during swing and, thus, allows the golfer utilizing the apparatus to practice proper swing dynamics without the likelihood of the golfer sustaining joint injury or the club sustaining damage that a more rigid hitting surface might inflict. Furthermore, the present practice apparatus is adapted to be significantly compacted for transport and storage, and it features a simple assembly of relatively few constituent components. In fact, a preferred embodiment of the present apparatus comprises: (a) a recycled rubber base mat having a trough cut out of it; (b) a rectangular and flexible thin gauge steel beam, the proximal and distal ends of which rest on the base mat in such orientation that a large intermediary portion of the beam suspends over the mat's trough; (c) a resilient foam pad overlaying the base mat and beam; and (d) a top layer of synthetic turf bonded to the foam pad. The four distinct layers of the apparatus serve to: (1) provide a grass-like surface for hitting golf balls from; (2) provide cushioning support below the feet of the standing golfer, much like the grass and soil of a real golf fairway would; (3) provide a unitary deflectable element for permitting momentary downward movement of the ball-supporting surface in response to the load applied by a golf club head when it hits the turf; and (4) provide a base element adapted to form fit against the ground surfaces upon which it may be placed, that inhibits sliding relative to the ground underneath it and which is configured to permit downward movement of the deflectable element. A ball tee may also be included to facilitate tee driving.

It is, therefore, an object of the instant invention to provide a golf practice apparatus that presents minimal risk of injury to the golfer. By having a highly deflectable steel beam placed underneath the turf layer and having the beam situated over an open void of some depth within the base layer, the ball-supporting area of the turf is able to flex under load and, thereby, dampen the impact of a striking golf club head, rather than that impact being delivered to the golfer's body. Consequently, in addition to protecting the golfer, the apparatus provides the golfer the sensation of hitting a golf ball from a natural fairway turf and thereby eliminates the need for the golfer to alter swing mechanics in order to compensate for differences in ground conditions between a natural hitting surface and the hitting surface of the instant device.

It is another object of the invention to provide a golf practice apparatus of deflective capability that is improved with respect to simplicity and reliability of its assembly. To wit, underneath its synthetic grass hitting surface, the present apparatus comprises layered sheets of durable material which are unlikely to materially degrade after even prolonged use of the apparatus. Further, whereas, in order to facilitate downward movement of the ball-hitting surface, many prior art practice devices may incorporate springs which may be susceptible to failing under stress, the present apparatus uses a thin beam capable of elastically flexing under relatively light loads and then returning to its flat profile. Additionally, the void space into which the beam is free to deflect can be defined by a shallow, contoured trough cut into the base layer that would inhibit the beam from plastically deforming under the stress of a heavy, unexpected load such as the beam might experience when a golfer accidentally steps onto the turf overlying it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a golf practice apparatus that is improved with respect to ease of transporting and storing it. Because of its predominantly non-rigid composition, the apparatus could conceivably be folded or even coiled, to some extent, allowing it to be more easily lifted and carried by an individual and stored in smaller spaces than could accommodate more rigidly structured golf practice devices of the prior art. Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the flexible beam component may be temporarily removed to permit even tighter coiling of remaining apparatus.

Finally, yet another object of the invention is to provide a golf practice apparatus in which the ball-supporting surface and the golfer-supporting surface are integrated into a unitary device that can be placed atop virtually any ground surface with minimal risk of sliding or of becoming imbalanced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a golf practice apparatus of the present invention in a disassembled state;

FIGS. 2A-C are side elevational views of the apparatus in the vicinity of golf ball-supporting area shown in partial cross-section, these views showing the successive action of the artificial turf, intermediate layer and deflective beam of the apparatus in response to a load applied by a swinging golf club head; and

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the deflective beam and base component of the apparatus, shown in partial cross-section, the base component having a void area formed by a tapered concaved trough.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the base component of the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with the present invention, FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a golf practice apparatus, designated as 1, which comprises a base mat 10, a deflectable beam 20, an intermediate sheet 30, an artificial turf 40 and a ball tee 50. The base mat 10, preferably, is an approximately 4-inch thick slab of recycled rubber that, along with the overlying intermediate sheet 30 and turf 40, is capable of being rolled into a large coil when the apparatus 1 is not in use. However, the base 10 could alternatively be fabricated of a rigid material such as a hard plastic or wood.

As shown in FIG. 4, projecting from the bottom surface of the base mat 10 are a plurality of short studs 8 which inhibit the apparatus 1 from sliding along the ground. Cut into its top surface is a void space 12 which transverses much of an end portion of the base 10. As depicted in FIGS. 2A and 3, the void 12 may be defined by a tapered trough cut into the base 10.

Alternatively, as it is depicted in FIG. 1 the void space 12 can be simply a generally rectangular hole through the base 10. In any event, lying atop the base mat 10 and traversing and the void space is a single deflectable beam 20. The beam 20 is a rectangular article fabricated of thin sheet metal, such as Grade 301 stainless steel, or composite material. The most important quality of the beam 20 is its high bending modulus of elasticity (ideally, >30,000,000 psi) which allows it to elastically bend without yielding under an anticipatable load which may be applied to it during normal use of the apparatus 1.

The beam 20 is longer, but narrower, than the void space 12. Therefore, opposing end portions 22, 26 of the beam both extend onto and are supported by the base 10 while the intermediary portion 24 and majority of the beam suspends over the void 12 without any direct underlying support from the base 10. This orientation allows the beam 20 to deflect downward into the void space 12 under the vertical load that is applied to the beam 20 when, as shown in the action illustrations of FIGS. 2A-C, a golf club 70 drives down into the turf 40 to properly strike a golf ball 60. Of course, the base 10 must be relatively non-resilient so that when such a force is applied to the beam 20, its middle portion 24 is able to deflect downward relative to the surface areas of the base 10 which support the beam ends 22, 26.

Preferably, the base mat 10 features a pair of recesses 16 for retaining the beam end portions 22, 26. FIG. 3 illustrates such a pair of recesses which, together with the adjacent void space 12, form a shallow pocket within the base mat 10 that is dimensioned to receive the beam 20. The depth of each recess 16 matches the thickness of the beam 20 so that when the beam 20 is in its normal flat profile, its top surface is coplanar with that of the base mat 10, as can be gleaned from viewing FIG. 2A. The beam end portions 22, 26 may be bonded or mechanically attached to the base 10, or alternatively, the beam 20 may simply rest atop the base 10 unattached. In the latter case, the intermediate sheet 30 and/or turf 40 overlying the beam 20 effectively retain the beam 20 within the recesses 16 during use of the apparatus 1. Then, if the beam 20 ever needs replacement, the intermediate sheet 30 and turf 40 can be raised from the base mat 10 and the beam 20 removed therefrom.

Directly above the base mat 10 and deflectable beam 20 is the intermediate sheet 30 which is, preferably, a thin layer of non-slip foam rubber. The sheet 30 is included in the apparatus 1 for the dual purposes of (a) inhibiting the playing surface of the apparatus 1 from sliding relative to the base mat 10 and (b) providing a cushion element underneath the turf 40 so as to approximate the feel of a natural surface and provide greater comfort to a golfer standing atop the apparatus 1. The former quality is especially useful given the torque generated by a club-swinging golfer might otherwise cause the artificial turf 40 to shift from time to time.

Layered over and adhesively bonded to the intermediate sheet 30 is an artificial turf 40 of a type well-known in the art of golf practice devices. The turf 30 is coextensive with the top surface of the mat 10, and it comprises a ball-striking area 46 above the deflectable beam 20 and void area 12 and a standing area(s) 48 defined generally as the portions of turf 40 which are away from the void area 12.

Finally, a ball tee element may also be included in the apparatus 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the disclosed tee 50 comprises a base portion 54 which anchors into the base mat 10 and a stem portion 52 which extends up through small coaxial holes 34, 44 in the intermediate sheet 30 and turf 40, respectively.

Although the present invention has been described in detail and with reference to and illustration of a preferred version, it should be understood that other versions, which are not illustrated, are contemplated as being a part of the present invention. As a mere example, the synthetic playing surface can be permanently fastened to the base element by some means, preventing the synthetic surface from sliding relative to the base, but also rendering the deflectable beam irremovable from the apparatus. As another example, a smaller version of the apparatus can comprise just a ball-hitting portion without a corresponding adjacent portion for the golfer to stand upon. 

1. A golf swing practice apparatus comprising: a horizontally disposed base member, the base member having a void area; a deflectable beam disposed above the void area, wherein a first end portion and an opposing second end portion of the beam are in contact with the base member, and an intermediary portion of the beam is suspended over the void area without underlying support, wherein the intermediary portion may be manually deflected downward within the void area; and an artificial turf layered over the base member and the deflectable beam.
 2. The practice apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a tee element for holding a golf ball, the tee element being comprised of a base portion and a tee portion, wherein the base portion is anchored within said base member, and the tee portion extends upwardly therefrom and protrudes said turf.
 3. The practice apparatus of claim 1, wherein said void area is generally defined by a tapered trough within said base member.
 4. The practice apparatus of claim 1, wherein said void area is generally defined by an opening through said base member.
 5. The practice apparatus of claim 1, wherein said base member has a frictional bottom surface, whereby said apparatus will remain in fixed relation to the surface upon which it rests during normal golf swing practice use.
 6. The practice apparatus of claim 1, wherein said deflectable beam comprises a generally rectangular sheet of material having an elastic modulus of at least 30,000,000 psi.
 7. The practice apparatus of claim 1, wherein said deflectable beam is removable from said apparatus.
 8. A golf swing practice apparatus comprising: a horizontally disposed base member, the base member having a void area; a deflectable beam disposed above the void area, wherein a first end portion and an opposing second end portion of the beam are in contact with the base member, and an intermediary portion of the beam is suspended over the void area without underlying support, wherein the intermediary portion may be manually deflected downward within the void area; an artificial turf layered over the base member and the deflectable beam; and an intermediate sheet sandwiched between the artificial turf and the deflectable beam, wherein the intermediate sheet is fabricated from resilient and slip-resistant material.
 9. The practice apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a tee element for holding a golf ball, the tee element being comprised of a base portion and a tee portion, wherein the base portion is anchored within said base member, and the tee portion extends upwardly therefrom and protrudes both said cushioning member and said turf.
 10. The practice apparatus of claim 8, wherein said void area is generally defined by a tapered trough within said base member.
 11. The practice apparatus of claim 8, wherein said void area is generally defined by an opening through said base member.
 12. The practice apparatus of claim 8, wherein said base member has a frictional bottom surface, whereby said apparatus will remain in fixed relation to the surface upon which it rests during normal golf swing practice use.
 13. The practice apparatus of claim 8, wherein said deflectable beam comprises a generally rectangular sheet of material having an elastic modulus of at least 30,000,000 psi.
 14. The practice apparatus of claim 8, wherein said deflectable beam is removable from said apparatus. 